Collapsible box



. McLAREN.

COLLAPSIBLE BOX.

APPLICATION HLED APR. 14. 1921.

Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

IN VEN TOR.

, UNITED STA i ANDREW BROWN'MOLAREN, or TORONT0,0NTARIOhCANADA, nsseivon To E58: o

euiv'rrrna co. turn, or TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

"To all whom it may concern? coLLAPsIB BOX: I

' Application filed April 14,

' Be it known thatiLgANnREw .BRQWN MGLAREN, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain, residing in the city of Toronto, countyiof York, Provinceof Ontario, Can- I ada, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in v Collapsible Boxes, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in collapsible boxes, orcontainers, and the principa'l object of my invention istojprovide greatflexibility in'the supporting member at the'bottom of the body-portion,in all parts thereof, and so'permit the same to mew; will be set forthinthe claims forming- .partly raised. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-secf 'Ais the body-portion of the v same comprises the sides B and Cassociatedreadily collapse when the body-portion is collapsed and foldin therewith, and be readily distended and made tautas the bodyportionis set up, and without deterioration.

In the following specification I shall doscribethe' preferredconstruction of my box,1 and in the drawings I shall disclosethe pre-'ferred shapethereof, and what I claim as part 'of this F specification.

Fig." 1 is a side elevation ofmy box set tionalone set up, thebottom'being shown tion on the line 3-3,-Fig. 2 showing the 1 bottomlowered. Fig. 4 is a plan view ofthe body-portion partly collapsed, andFigs 5' is a plan view of the under side. of the" lid showing thecollapsed body-portion nested therein.-

Inthe drawings, like characters of reference refer to the'sameparts. I

box, andthe' in any manner well-known inthe art. The sides C areconstructed in any suitable manner each with a vertically disposedflexible joint or connection D sothat these sides may be collapsed topermit of the collapsingof the body-portion, as shown in Fig. &. Eachside B is provided with a flange E fiexiblyassd ciated with the bottomthereof in any suitable manner, and each sidefCis provided with a flangeF suitably flexibly associated therewith. The flanges F are separatedsubstantially midway their length as shown at G so as to permit of thecollapsing of the sides C. The flanges E and Fare cut ofi atSpecification of'Letters Patent. :Patented is a flexible,supporting-member I' make of tended box will be held in setupform1921;,jsaa1m. 461,199. 1

position shown inFiglQ particularly, and so "permittheseflanges'tdoccupy substantially A r. 192g;

-.1ar; angleas shown "atlll hd tihseyends WYllInOt interfere when theparts arejinythe andfadapted'to support the flanges E and F, 1

suitable material, preferablycotton', so! that this supporting memberilli readily 'col lapse whenthe body-portion is collapsed and fold intherewith without interference; that isto say, when the body-portion Aisfully collapsed the supporting member I will not,

interfere-withthe nesting of the body-poi; tion within the lid J asshown in Fig. 5. My preferred-manner of associating the sUpportingmember 1 with the body-portion A is to secure the edges 2 thereof aroundthe lower edge of the "body-portion A on the outer sidethereof sothatthe said supporting member. will be"" located' underneath the 3 is thebottom'o'fth'e body-'po'rtionA-jand' I the same is flexibly associatedwith .onerof the sides B thereof in any suitable manner,

' preferably by means of a strip l,,offcotton,.

secured in place after I any"}mannerZ well known in the art. The bottom3.1is shown :as raised in Fig. 2. When thisbottom-is low ered, sinceitextends. into contact with the Y sides 0, itw'ill distendfor spread.the said body-portion, and at the same, time distend C theisupportingmemberl so that when the said bottomvis fully lowered, the member- I.will 7 be held taut and give the desired support to the said flanges.Sinceuthe bottom. 3v will also be in contact with. the lsidesvll the-dis possess thedesired rigidity. #In order,tocollapsethe body-portionA,

the bottom 3 is raised, .and then the sides 0 are collapsed inwardlyalong the joint or connection D, while theflanges E and F fold againsttheir associated sides. 7 v Because of the character ofthesupportingmember I, the same becomes substantially uniformly limp sothat it will readily accommodate itself to the collapsing of thebody-portion A. Y

The lid J nently its shape, and when removed .from the body-portion,when the box'is of the right will be made to retain perma-l tion, I haveshown the sections C of one'of "the sides C,-in Fig.4, as brought closetogether at the top edges thus hiding the edges 2, which are broken awayat the lower part'ofthis figure so as to not confuse the illustration. pL Various changes in construct on may be made'i'n that disclosed'withoutdeparting from the principle of my'invention, and .I desire not to belimited in my scope of-protection,1 beyond the requirements of the priorart in theterms of my claims.

lVhile I prefer to use'the strip etto flexibly associate the bottom 3with one of the .sides B, it must beunderstood that I may dispense withthis strip. lorits equivalent, if I wish;

It will bev clear to one skilled in the art that the corners illustratedin Fig. 4 where the sides are flexibly associated, are greatlyexaggerated for the purposes of clearness in illustration.-

' collapselinwardly, at which time the said flanges fold against theirassociated sides; a flexible supporting member adapted for \Vhat I claimisi V 1. In a collapsible container, a collapsible bodyportioncomprising flange-provided sides, one pair of opposing sides adapted toassociation with the said body-portion to a support said flanges whensaid bodyrportion j is set up, and adapted to be collapsed sub'stantiallythroughout when; said body 'portion is collapsed, and amovable bottom adapted, when positioned, to simultaneously distendsaidbody-portion and said flexible support, which latter is held tautthereby; v 2. Ina collapsible container, a. collapsible body-portioncomprising flange-provided b sides, one pair of opposing sides adaptedto collapse inwardly, at which time the said flanges fold against theirassociated sides;-

a flexiblesupporting member adapted for association with the saidbody-portion 'to 1 support said flanges when said body-portion is setup, and adapted to be collapsed substantially throughout when saidbodyportion is collapsed,--and a movablebottom interiorly hinged nearthe bottom to one of the sides located between said collapsible sides,and adaptedywhen moved down into position, to simultaneously distendsaid body"-'portion and said flexible support, which latter is held tautthereby.

3. Ina collapsible container, a'collapsible, body-portion I comprisingflange-provided sides, one pairof'opposing sides adapted to collapseinwardly, at which time the-said flanges fold againsttheir associatedsides; a flexible supporting member exteriorly associated with lowerportions of said sides and positioned to extend underneathsaid flangesand to support the same when said body-portion is set up, and adapted tobe collapsed substantially throughoutv when said body-portion iscollapsed; a fmov a ble bottom interiorly hing-ed nearthe bottom to oneof the sides located between said collapsible sides, and adapted, whenmoved down into position, to simultaneously distend said body-portionand saidjflexible sup: port, which latter is held taut thereby;

4. Ina collapsible container, a collapsible body-portion comprisingflexibly associated sides, each of which is" provided, with a flangehaving flexible connection therewith;

one pair of opposing sidessubstantially midway their ends adapted tocollapse inwardly, as also are the flanges associated therew1th;iaflexible supporting member.

so i

adapted for association with each of ,saidfi sides to supportsaid fiangeaa .a movable bottom adapted, whenpositioned,. to simul tanco'uslydistend said body-portion andsaid flexible support, which latter is heldtaut thereby. v, w I

In a collapsible container, in combination, a collapsible body-portion,a plurality of flanges having flexible connection therewith and adaptedto fold against their as- 'sociated portion ofsaid body-portion when thesame is collapsed; a flexible-supporting member adapted for associationwith said body-portion to support said flanges when the container is setup, and a movable bottom adapted, when positioned, to V simultaneouslydistend said fbody portion and V-said flexible support, which latterisheld taut therebyf H ANDREW BROW'N MoLARENJ

